5 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show
himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that
it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth
himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all
men might become subject unto him.
6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the
merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of
resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the
fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became
fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save
it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on
incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have
remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to
rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
Jacob tells the Nephites Christ will appear in Jerusalem. He will be subject to them and die. Through His death, all men will become subject to Him. Nephi would later write, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:24).
Christ would tell the Nephites:
“And my Father sent
me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted
up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been
lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before
me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
“And for this cause
have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will
draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works” (3
Nephi 27:14–15).
It was appropriate that Jacob was a priest and teacher. “Jacob was particularly qualified to serve [as
a priest and teacher] because, as Lehi noted, he had seen the glory of the
Redeemer and knew of his ministry in the flesh and of the salvation he would
bring (2 Nephi 2:3—4; cf. 11:3; Jacob 2:11)..”[1]
Death comes upon all men.
Why? To fulfill the plan of
salvation. There has to be a
resurrection. This comes about because
of Adam’s fall. The fall came about
because of transgression. Through
transgression, we are cut off from the presence of the Lord. In Ecclesiastes we read:
“Because to every
purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon
him.
“For he knoweth not
that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
“There is no man
that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in
the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall
wickedness deliver those that are given to it” (Ecclesiastes 8:6-8).
John Tvedtnes continues:
“The fall of Adam resulted in two types of death, both
required under the law of justice. The physical or temporal death separates the
spirit from the body, while the spiritual death separates us from God (see
D&C 29:40—43). Lehi declared that, ‘By the law men are cut off ... by the
temporal law ... and also, by the spiritual law ... and become miserable
forever’ (2 Nephi 2:5). Jacob put it this way: ‘For as death hath passed upon
all men ... because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the
Lord’ (2 Nephi 9:6; cf. verse 9).”[2]
The plan of salvation is an infinite atonement. Were it
not, “corruption could not put on
incorruption” (2 Nephi 9:7). Through the
first judgment, we die and our flesh will “rot and … crumble to its mother
earth to rise no more” (2 Nephi 9:7).
Alma2 and Amulek both confronted Zeezrom over this issue
(first Amulek).
“Now, behold, I
have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also
concerning the resurrection of the mortal body.
I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that
is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more;
their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole
becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption” (Alma
11:45).
Next, Alma2.
“And now, my
brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall
not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that
he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according
to his word in the last provocation as well as the
first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to
his word, unto the last death, as well as the first” (Alma 12:36).
Alma2 would explain to his son, Corianton:
“But behold, it was
appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life
they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever,
yea, they became fallen man…
“Therefore, as the
soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual
death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of
the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual
death…
“And thus we see
that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the
justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence” (Alma
42:6, 9, 14).
“The plan of God, therefore, was for Adam and Eve to become mortal
or imperfect, in order that they and their offspring might gain experience
unavailable to them in their perfect condition. But there was a problem to be
overcome. Since the penalty for disobedience is death, it was necessary to
forestall the judgment in order to give mankind the opportunity to repent. In
the eternal plan, this meant (1) providing a savior whose death would satisfy
the demands of justice, and (2) establishing a probationary period during which
Adam's family could be tested and learn obedience to the plan of mercy.”[3]
[1] The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the
Teachings of His Son Jacob, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute.
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